פֿאַרעפֿנטלעכט: 15.09.2018
After we were able to rest and give our bodies the necessary rest to avoid catching a cold, we are feeling much better again. We have now arrived at our new accommodation at the top of the Lofoten. We will stay here until Sunday evening. After that, we will take the ferry to Bodø to enjoy wild camping for the rest of the time and see as much as possible.
In the meantime, a few minor things happened, starting with the check-in on Friday morning. This turned out to be a hurdle as we initially couldn't find the reception. So we called the accommodation. An unmotivated English-speaking Norwegian with African descent answered the phone, whose accents and mumbling unfortunately didn't contribute to our understanding.
Even after a detailed description, including English word creation, the reception could not be found. After some time and seemingly little activity, the incredibly nice and sympathetic receptionist moved to the other side of the shore and made it clear to us that while our house is on our side of the shore, we still have to cross the approximately 500m long bridge on thin wooden posts and pass various sailing ships to discover a small narrow cottage consisting of one room, located behind a fisherman's house, and is supposedly 'very easy' to find.
So now we got our key and went back to our cottage, which was much easier to find. Here, we were greeted by a small red fisherman's cottage named 'Matthias Bua'. Like most things here in Norway, it is very rustic and minimalist. Everything inside is also made of wood and brings exactly the right atmosphere of the small fishing village. We captured our view and a few more impressions in pictures.
As you can see, everything is very quiet here, and you could spend hours listening to the sound of the waves and enjoying the beautiful view. The majority of the population here consists of seagulls (also called pigeons in special circles), which like to chat all day long, even in huge flocks. Of course, they also contribute to the dramatic scenery of the waves crashing against the shore in rather modest weather.
When we unpacked everything and saw our pile of laundry, we realized that we had to go back to the nice African/Norwegian receptionist, who would certainly hand us laundry tokens. These then cost 21 euros for 2 drying cycles and 3 washing cycles. Quite an expensive hygiene and cleanliness process. But well, after some professional instructions and tips from the motivated staff member, we went to do the laundry.
All laundry perfectly clean, we started shopping. We were fully motivated to have a fish evening and treat ourselves to fresh fish. However, this failed due to excessively high prices. So we declared tacos to be our new national dish, which, for astonishing reasons, despite their foreign origin, were among the cheapest items in the store but tasted great. Of course, we couldn't forget to buy some fresh cold cuts and rolls for the next 2 extended breakfasts, as it is difficult to use them at the wild camping site, let alone keep them fresh or cool.
Back from shopping, we cooked dinner and had a quiet evening.
The next morning, we got up and were already looking forward to a leisurely breakfast by the window with a view of the sea. Eating outside wouldn't have been so idyllic because it was still raining and 'slightly' windy. But it didn't matter because the view from the window was also great! Well, at least for about 5 minutes until a stranger walked across our balcony and loudly shouted something unintelligible to a friend. We looked at each other somewhat shocked and then opened the window to ask if she had gotten lost or if an accidental double booking of our cottage had caused her to want to join us for breakfast. Only a soft 'Sorry' came, and she disappeared from our balcony.
After that, we were able to finish our breakfast in peace.
Otherwise, the day was quite unspectacular but calm and relaxed, as the weather didn't really play along.
Tomorrow we will check out and allow ourselves a visit to the beautiful and famous village of Reine before taking the ferry to Bodø.